Need for Speed Football stars joining growing list of celebrity owners

2006 NASCAR Season Preview
THE FUTURE
Need for Speed
PHOTO COURTESY OF NASCAR
Former Cowboy quarterback
Troy Aikman started his own
race team this year. Terry
Labonte will drive his car.
Football stars joining growing list of celebrity owners
T
erance Mathis thought NASCAR
would be about fast cars. He was
wrong.
The most-celebrated receiver in
Atlanta Falcons history has learned the
racing world runs on money, not gasoline.
Without help from a sponsor, the best
race car never leaves the garage.
Mathis, who joined a growing list of
former National Football League players
starting second careers in NASCAR, has
spent months working the telephones,
trying to find backing for his Victory
Story by Don Coble • Morris News Service
Motorsports. He has a lot of interest, but
until he gets a signature on a contract he
won’t rest.
“It’s been real frustrating, but I’m not
about to give up,” he said. “I’m still trying
to find sponsorship. There are a lot of
opportunities out there, but I’m just waiting on somebody to say, ‘Let’s do it.’ I’ve
been out of the league for (15) months. I
understand the process. It takes time. I
have a lot of irons in the fire; I’m just waiting for somebody to give me the OK.”
Undersized and not especially fast,
Mathis built a successful career by outworking his competition. He finished his
career with the most catches (573), most
yards (7,349) and receiving touchdowns
(57) in Falcons history.
He’s trying to use that same work
ethic in racing.
“This is a new hurdle for me,” he said.
“Everyone knows about diversity in racing, but this is about results. We may end
up going down to Daytona and showing
everyone what we’re worth and going
from there. I’ve never been afraid to put it
all on the line before.”
If he gets his Chevrolet to Daytona,
Mathis will join a lot of other fellow football players along pit road. Former Dallas
Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach
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